US5557331A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Image encoding method, an image encoding circuit, an image encoding apparatus, and an optical disk
Assignee: Panasonic Holdings Corp
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Filing: 1994-03-11
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Granted: 1996-09-17
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Expires: 2014-03-11
Abstract
Abstract A method for encoding image data according to the present invention includes the steps of: specifying a type of a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the type of the picture; and inserting the at least one slice header at the position determined in the determining step, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that at least one of the relationships N i >N b and N p >N b is satisfied, where N i denotes the number of slices in the I-picture, N p denotes the number of slices in the P-picture and N b denotes the number of slices in the B-picture.
Inventors
- 👤 Masahiro Honjo
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 05:09
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N9/00; H04N9/79; H04N9/80; H04N9/804; H04N9/8042; H04N19/00; H04N19/10; H04N19/102; H04N19/124; H04N19/134; H04N19/146; H04N19/152; H04N19/169; H04N19/17; H04N19/174; H04N19/46; H04N19/60; H04N19/61; H04N19/70; H04N19/85; H04N19/89; H04N7/00; H04N7/24; H04N7/52; H04N7/54; H04N7/56; H04N5/00; H04N5/76; H04N5/84; H04N5/85
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
133 words
A method for encoding image data comprising the steps of: specifying a type of a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the type of the picture; and inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined in the determining step, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that at least one of the relationships N i >N b and N p >N b is satisfied, where N i denotes the number of slices in the I-picture, N p denotes the number of slices in the P-picture and N b denotes the number of slices in the B-picture.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
133 words
A method for encoding image data comprising the steps of: specifying a type of a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the type of the picture; and inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined in the determining step, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that at least one of the relationships N i >N b and N p >N b is satisfied, where N i denotes the number of slices in the I-picture, N p denotes the number of slices in the P-picture and N b denotes the number of slices in the B-picture.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
81 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that at least one of the relationships M i <M b and M p <M b is satisfied, where M i denotes the number of macro blocks included in each slice in the I-picture, M p denotes the number of macro blocks included in each slice in the P-picture and M b denotes the number of macro blocks included in each slice in the B-picture.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
64 words
A method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of switching between a first mode of low compression rate and a second mode of high compression rate, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that the number of slices in the picture in the first mode is larger than the number of slices in the picture in the second mode.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
113 words
A method for encoding image data comprising the steps of: detecting an amount of data in a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the amount of data in the picture; and inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined in the determining step, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that the amount of data contained in each slice in the picture is maintained at substantially the same value irrespective of the type of the picture.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
113 words
A method for encoding image data comprising the steps of: detecting an amount of data in a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the amount of data in the picture; and inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined in the determining step, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that the amount of data contained in each slice in the picture is maintained at substantially the same value irrespective of the type of the picture.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
64 words
A method according to claim 4, further comprising a step of switching between a first mode of low compression rate and a second mode of high compression rate, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that the number of slices in the picture in the first mode is larger than the number of slices in the picture in the second mode.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
149 words
A circuit for encoding image data comprising: picture type specifying means for specifying a type of a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; slice header position determining means for determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the type of the picture; and slice header inserting means for inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined by the slice header position determining means, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that at least one of the relationships N i >N b and N p >N b is satisfied, where N i denotes the number of slices in the I-picture, N p denotes the number of slices in the P-picture and N b denotes the number of slices in the B-picture.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
149 words
A circuit for encoding image data comprising: picture type specifying means for specifying a type of a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; slice header position determining means for determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the type of the picture; and slice header inserting means for inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined by the slice header position determining means, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that at least one of the relationships N i >N b and N p >N b is satisfied, where N i denotes the number of slices in the I-picture, N p denotes the number of slices in the P-picture and N b denotes the number of slices in the B-picture.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
81 words
A circuit according to claim 6, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that at least one of the relationships M i <M b and M p <M b is satisfied, where M i denotes the number of macro blocks included in each slice in the I-picture, M p denotes the number of macro blocks included in each slice in the P-picture and M b denotes the number of macro blocks included in each slice in the B-picture.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
63 words
A circuit according to claim 6, further comprising means for switching between a first mode of low compression rate and a second mode of high compression rate, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that the number of slices in the picture in the first mode is larger than the number of slices in the picture in the second mode.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
126 words
A circuit for encoding image data comprising: detecting means for detecting an amount of data in a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; slice header position determining means for determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the amount of data in the picture; and slice header inserting means for inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined by the slice header position determining means, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that the amount of data in each slice in the picture is maintained at substantially the same value irrespective of the type of the picture.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
126 words
A circuit for encoding image data comprising: detecting means for detecting an amount of data in a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; slice header position determining means for determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the amount of data in the picture; and slice header inserting means for inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined by the slice header position determining means, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that the amount of data in each slice in the picture is maintained at substantially the same value irrespective of the type of the picture.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
63 words
A circuit according to claim 9, further comprising means for switching between a first mode of low compression rate and a second mode of high compression rate, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that the number of slices in the picture in the first mode is larger than the number of slices in the picture in the second mode.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
168 words
An apparatus comprising: encoding means for encoding image data; and recording means for recording the encoded image data in a recording medium, the encoding means comprising: picture type specifying means for specifying a type of a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; slice header position determining means for determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the type of the picture; and slice header inserting means for inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined by the slice header position determining means, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that at least one of the relationships N i >N b and N p >N b is satisfied, where N i denotes the number of slices in the I-picture, N p denotes the number of slices in the P-picture and N b denotes the number of slices in the B-picture.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
168 words
An apparatus comprising: encoding means for encoding image data; and recording means for recording the encoded image data in a recording medium, the encoding means comprising: picture type specifying means for specifying a type of a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; slice header position determining means for determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the type of the picture; and slice header inserting means for inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined by the slice header position determining means, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that at least one of the relationships N i >N b and N p >N b is satisfied, where N i denotes the number of slices in the I-picture, N p denotes the number of slices in the P-picture and N b denotes the number of slices in the B-picture.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
81 words
An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that at least one of the relationships M i <M b and M p <M b is satisfied, where M i denotes the number of macro blocks included in each slice in the I-picture, M p denotes the number of macro blocks included in each slice in the P-picture and M b denotes the number of macro blocks included in each slice in the B-picture.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
67 words
An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the encoding means further comprises means for switching between a first mode of low compression rate and a second mode of high compression rate, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that the number of slices in the picture in the first mode is larger than the number of slices in the picture in the second mode.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
28 words
An apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising reproduction means for reproducing image data recorded in the recording medium and decoding means for decoding the reproduced image data.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
145 words
An apparatus comprising: encoding means for encoding image data; and recording means for recording the encoded image data in a recording medium, the encoding means comprising: detecting means for detecting an amount of data in a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; slice header position determining means for determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the amount of data in the picture; and slice header inserting means for inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined by the slice header position determining means, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that the amount of data in each slice in the picture is maintained at substantially the same value irrespective of the type of the picture.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
145 words
An apparatus comprising: encoding means for encoding image data; and recording means for recording the encoded image data in a recording medium, the encoding means comprising: detecting means for detecting an amount of data in a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; slice header position determining means for determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the amount of data in the picture; and slice header inserting means for inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined by the slice header position determining means, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that the amount of data in each slice in the picture is maintained at substantially the same value irrespective of the type of the picture.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
67 words
An apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the encoding means further comprises means for switching between a first mode of low compression rate and a second mode of high compression rate, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that the number of slices in the picture in the first mode is larger than the number of slices in the picture in the second mode.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
28 words
An apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising reproduction means for reproducing image data recorded in the recording medium and decoding means for decoding the reproduced image data.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
147 words
An optical disk for recording data which is coded in accordance with an image encoding method, the image encoding method comprising the steps of: specifying a type of a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the type of the picture; and inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined in the determining step, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that at least one of the relationships N i >N b and N p >N b is satisfied, where N i denotes the number of slices in the I-picture, N p denotes the number of slices in the P-picture and N b denotes the number of slices in the B-picture.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
147 words
An optical disk for recording data which is coded in accordance with an image encoding method, the image encoding method comprising the steps of: specifying a type of a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the type of the picture; and inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined in the determining step, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that at least one of the relationships N i >N b and N p >N b is satisfied, where N i denotes the number of slices in the I-picture, N p denotes the number of slices in the P-picture and N b denotes the number of slices in the B-picture.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
127 words
An optical disk for recording data which is coded in accordance with an image encoding method, the image encoding method comprising the steps of: detecting an amount of data in a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the amount of data in the picture; and inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined in the determining step, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that the amount of data contained in each slice in the picture is maintained at substantially the same value irrespective of the type of the picture.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
127 words
An optical disk for recording data which is coded in accordance with an image encoding method, the image encoding method comprising the steps of: detecting an amount of data in a picture in a picture sequence including an I-picture, a P-picture and a B-picture; determining a position of at least one slice header in the picture in accordance with the amount of data in the picture; and inserting signals representing at least one slice header within a stream of signals representing the picture at the position determined in the determining step, wherein the position of the slice header is determined so that the amount of data contained in each slice in the picture is maintained at substantially the same value irrespective of the type of the picture.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US5282049A
Cited
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
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| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2003-09-17 | 2004-03-18 | 2004-09-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2007-09-17 | 2008-03-18 | 2008-09-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |